Flux Capacitor

Performance date: June 29, 2016

Published on Jun 29, 2016
Flux Capacitor performs live in The Sound Room at WEEU, 830 AM in Reading, PA. Set includes “The Fisherman” at 0:00, “Lo Mein” at 9:25, and “Long Time” at 19:19.

Extended Audio Session Below:

Emerging from the Pennsylvania music scene, from the outskirts of the City of Brotherly Love, is the phenom band known as Flux Capacitor. Their fiery, distinct sound has catapulted the group with lightning speed into the National Music Scene.
This band of brothers consistently inspire and evoke a new and wildly addicting sound resonating with elements of rock, improvisation and electronica. They redefine musicality with positive prophetic vocals, complex guitar work, innovative keys/synths/bass stylings, with feverish syncopated drum rhythms. Flux Capacitor concerts are filled with improvisation, musical segues, spontaneous covers, and teases creating a unique, one of a kind experience at every performance. The essence of the brothers music is fueled by their dedicated practice of meditation and lucid dreaming which keeps them fueled by a higher power. Their electric vibe transcends the stage and extends into the crowd creating a magical musical ambience. .
Flux Capacitor have grown tremendoulsy since the bands inception in 2007. From a hand full of shows to playing hundreds of shows, and fine tuning their craft culminating in their first full length release 2009`s “They Know We Know” and subsequent tour from Pa to Chicago Il playing 15 shows made possible through their fast growing buzz and fan-base through the internet and roots promotion. This first tour resulted in strong internet sales on iTunes and CdBaby helping to broaden their fanbase. In 2011 the brothers were invited to Seattle to work with Jack Endino for their second Release “Monolith”. Following that release the band spent all of 2011 and 2012 Touring with 11 Dates throughout the UK and Canada and over 45 Shows outside their home region. Flux Capacitor won Jam Band of the Year at the highly esteemed 2013 TriState Indie awards in Philadlephia PA and has been nominated once again for this distinction in 2014. Flux has recently released their third album “Cycle 9″ showcasing the band’s most ambitious and epic material to date. “Cycle 9″ was recorded with John Becker of Anomoulous Audio. All three Flux Capacitor Cd’s are available on iTunes, CDbaby and Bandcamp.com as well as many record stores around the east coast. Flux is a dedicated family group that believes in music, joy and consciousness. Under these guiding principles Flux Capacitor has seen nothing but growth giving killer performances and creating ecstatic dance floors at every show.
Flux Has Shared The Stage With Umphrey`s McGee, Railroad Earth, Keller Williams, Rusted Root, The New Mastersounds, Tea Leaf Green, Karl Denson`s Tiny Universe, Ozomatli, Conspirator, Stanton Moore, JGB with Melvin Seals, Particle, David Grisman Quartet, Ivan Neville`s Dumpstaphunk, Kung Fu, Papadosio, the Movement, Splintered Sunlight, Dangermuffin, Lukas Nelson and many, many more!.

Interview excerpts from POP VULTURE magazine with Pete Specht:
“I was always singing since I was kid, walking around endlessly singing and making up songs. As I got older I got more serious and could never shake the call and the vision to be playing in a band. I had really crazy “night terrors” as a kid and I saw lots of really strange or far out stuff that really freaked me out at first. I began writing all my dreams down when I was around 13 years old and now I see them more akin to astral travel and I bring everything I see in those experiences contributes to the songs’ mood and lyrics. These experiences have married me to music and my brothers, Jason (Drummer) and Mike (Keys). They have been witnesses to this creative process and have been the rhythmic core and co-creators of the music since day one.”
“The most important lifelong influences on me have been Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley. I love hundreds of artists greatly but these two had a huge trans-formative effect on my growth as a performer. My eyes get wet every time I see a video of them performing and it never gets old or ceases to inspire me. As a group as a whole we were definitely inspired and influenced by Tool, Phish, Radiohead, Floyd as well as many others.”
“Some of my proudest accomplishments are Winning the Tri-State Indie Music awards for Jam Band of the Year 2013 in Philadelphia, there were many amazing and talented musicians nominated and it felt good to receive the recognition. Working with Grammy award winning producers Jack Endino (Nirvana) in Seattle and David Ivory (The roots) (Phila.) were exceptionally great experiences. Touring England was a huge event for us, we played 11 shows in the U.K. and we made a ton of new fans overseas. We felt so much energy from the experience playing our music on an international level. Playing the House of Blues in Atlantic City for the first time was a high point for us. As well getting to play and headline many festivals on the east coast while watching our fan base grow.”
Flux Capacitor 2014

Flux Capacitor a fan favorite at Bonnaroo festival

Wednesday July 6, 2016 12:01 AMBy Don Botch
READING, PAThe first time the Specht brothers – aka Flux Capacitor – attended the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., they were a bit overwhelmed by the place.

It was 10 years ago, and the Berks County-based psych-rockers were just getting off the ground. They were at Bonnaroo as spectators, and had taken along shopping bags full of burned CDs to hand out to anyone who wanted one.

“With the heat and the magnitude of it, we kind of said to ourselves, ‘We don’t know if we’re going to make it back here unless we’re playing at it,’ ” guitarist and vocalist Pete Specht said.

On June 10, they made good on that, returning to play a 45-minute Friday-night set on the Who Stage – smack-dab between the What and the This Stage – that came about after they beat out four other bands via fan voting in a contest sponsored by Angry Orchard hard cider company.

“They called us and said, ‘You guys are going to be playing at Bonnaroo,’ ” Specht said, “and we were like, ‘Hell yeah.’ ”

To say their set was well-received is putting it mildly.

In the months leading up to the festival, Flux already had started building a buzz because nearly 5,000 people RSVP’d to their show on the festival app.

“For our stage, the numbers were going extraordinarily high,” Specht said, “and that was turning a lot of heads in the production end of the festival, and that started snowballing.”

Specht said they have a following in Tennessee from having played 14 shows there in the past four years, so their fans were eager to support them at an event of Bonnaroo’s magnitude.

Their set was scheduled for 10:15 p.m. on the festival’s second day, and by the time they took the stage, the entire area in front was packed with spectators. Fans started shouting out references to towns Flux had played before their booking agent, Phil Simon, had even introduced them.

“The first song was called ‘Unite,’ ” Specht said, “and just when Phil introduced us as Flux Capacitor and we started warming up the first chord, everyone started screaming, and it sounded awesome.

“Then we went into a song called ‘Big Bad’ that’s really intense, and it just kind of followed a whole nice arc to the finale.”

During “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” fans started handing out glow sticks and bracelets, which added to the ambience.

“We just drove right to the end and really had a climactic finish,” Specht said.

Afterwards, fans were hugging them and congratulating them on their set.

Since returning home, they’ve been posting videos from their set, shot by their brother Tommy, on their Facebook page so local fans can share in the experience. Specht said it definitely rates as a career highlight for him and his brothers, drummer Jason and keyboardist Mike.

“It’s a huge highlight on a personal level, and then, as a band, it just felt great to be playing on a bill with bands like Pearl Jam and Les Claypool and Sean Lennon and Tame Impala,” he said. “There were a lot of new bands on there, too, that are pretty hip right now, so it felt really good on that level to be included with all these other groups.”

Specht said autumn is shaping up to be “out of this world.” He couldn’t divulge details yet but said they’ll soon be announcing a tour with some high-profile acts. And they’re working toward a fall or winter release of their fourth CD.

But first they’ll play Saturday’s ShReading Festival at Willow Glen Park in Sinking Spring, taking the stage at 6:30 p.m. It’s a fundraiser for the Reading Skatepark Association, which hopes to build a concrete skatepark in downtown Reading.

Specht said he and his brothers have been into skating since moving to Shillington when he was in third grade.

“All the older kids in our neighborhood were really nice,” he said, “and they would give us skateboards and teach us how to build ramps and teach us tricks.

“That was a big part of our youth: growing up with skating. So to be a part of this to help make an official skatepark in Reading, we’re totally all about supporting that.”